


Dear Darlin'

by Ididntsignupforthisshit (myhamartia)



Series: Newsies Tumblr Prompts [3]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Love Confessions, Love Letters, M/M, Telling Your Boyfriend You Love Him For The First Time Via A Love Letter, l o v e
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2019-01-18 22:25:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12397485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myhamartia/pseuds/Ididntsignupforthisshit
Summary: A prompt sent from anonymous:I love you, but you're an idiotThe first time David told Jack he loved, he was half way across the country.And it was via a letter.





	Dear Darlin'

    The process of coming into his apartment was very much a string of automatic movements. Jack locked his door after himself and then hung up his keys on the little hook on the back of the door (cute thing his boyfriend Davey once bought him. It was a small, circular wire rack hung up with a small nail. Inside the circle was a neatly fitted clay pot; in the pot dwelled the cutest little succulent Jack had ever laid eyes on). He toed off his shoes and kicked them to the corner, not spending the effort to put them in line with the other pairs.

  He flicked on a few lights on his way to the kitchen, dropped his backpack on a chair next to the table, and flung his mail to the counter.

  A moment later had him leaning against the counter, picking at a bowl of grapes he had just plucked from the refrigerator.

  Absently, he poked through the mail; the most notable bits were an internet bill and a catalogue Davey was obsessed with - at least, that was until he had come across a plain white envelope, stuck with a floral stamp and large, scratched letters reading _Jack Kelly_ over the middle.

  There was no return address, but Jack had a very good guess at who's handwriting that happened to be.

  Jack tore off the end of the envelope with steady fingers. The sound was the only thing in the dim little apartment, 'sides the clamour of the tenants above him, a toddler running around and the clang of a pan against a pot. Inside was a thick piece of paper, folded in thirds. The lines of words were on the straight and narrow, though the paper was unlined. The words were messy, smattered with crossed-out words and half-baked phrases.

  The handwriting was undoubtedly Davey's. Years of filching class notes and previewing small story excerpts made Jack recognize it instantly.

  Jack leaned his hip against the counter and crossed his legs at the ankle, getting comfortable for this curious occasion. Davey had never sent him a letter before - now that he thought about it, Jack had never received a letter from a friend before. The only things shipping to his apartment were bills, ads and the occasional Amazing purchase.

 

>    _Dear Jack,_
> 
> _I must confess that this is odd for me. I've never written anything like this. But, well... I suppose all of this needed to be said._
> 
> _You are the best man in my life. You came in like a whirlwind, and had anyone ever told me that I would end up here, I would never had believed them._
> 
> ~~_-I-_~~
> 
> ~~_-You-_~~
> 
> _This is proving very, very difficult, Jack. A real struggle. I can never seem to connect point A, to B, to C smoothly._
> 
> _Let me try this._
> 
> _Basorexia._
> 
> _That's a big word. Scary word. Try it in your mouth. Sounds almost clinical, right? Like it's an ailment. Well, it kind of it, but I digress._
> 
> _It means_ _a desire to be kissed._
> 
> _Swell, huh?_
> 
> _(Do people still say "Swell"? That was odd. This is odd._ _God , _ _what is_ _wrong _ _with me?)_
> 
> _I never really felt that before you; I am not one for fantasizing about kissing strangers, and thinking like that about friends is just generally uncomfortable, isn't it? But with you it's... almost like a constant?_
> 
> _Not that it's a question. I just find myself… um._
> 
> ~~_-Fuck.-_~~
> 
> _It isn't just about kissing you, Jack. It's about being_ _near_ _you. Close enough to hold you, to smell that godawful cologne I've learned to love, to be able to kiss you senseless._
> 
> _Like... when you come over on Friday nights, because my couch is comfier than yours, and we'll snuggle together and watch cartoon reruns on TV. That's one of the absolute highlights of my weeks - because the fact that I get to be so near you, to experience those Friday nights boggles my mind that you'd let me in on something like that._
> 
> _And this whole time, with my being at home with my family just Really makes it all stand out._ _I miss you so much _ _. I miss being able to wake up next to you, and how we make breakfast together. I miss the way your fingers tangle in mine, and how you comb through my hair._
> 
> _And I have just realized that I'm talking like you died, or something. That probably isn't the best way to go about this, is it?_
> 
> _Well._
> 
> _I know I'm only gone for a month. And that I’m coming home in almost a week. And I know this is weird, and that it should be said in person, or at least in a better way that isn't in a mess of rambling and me being clingy and mushy, but Jack Kelly._
> 
>   There were tappings of ink around the corners of the paper, giving Jack the mental image of Davey fretting, tapping his pen anxiously. Slowly, Jack reread the line over and then he read the bit before that again, trying to squash the little bubble of anxiety coming up his throat, threatening to choke him out.
> 
> _Jack Kelly. I love you._

  The phrase was scratched out four times, like Davey just didn't like the way it was written and he'd tried over and over before he was pleased (or at least satisfied) with the words.

  Jack's breath caught in his throat, right alongside his heart, and he found it difficult to breathe. He tried to make his eyes stay on the page, scanning over the line again and again, how the "L" was in a straight vertical line, how it contrasted with the gentle slope of the "I". He concentrated on the letters so he wouldn’t make a grab at his phone to call Davey up before he even finished reading the letter.

 

> _I really, really love you. And I feel like I can say it, now. I feel like, if anything, it's overdue._
> 
> _So. Yes. That's really all. I really should have just Snapped you a picture of it written on a Post-It(™), but I figured that this... meant something?_
> 
> _Something more?_
> 
> _Hopefully._
> 
> _If nothing else, you can tell people about how saying I Love You-_

  (The words were only crossed out once that time.)

 

>   _-saying I Love You meant so much to David Jacobs that he bought a godawful pack of writing stationary and went through the weird task of getting a stamp from his mother, just so he could send his boyfriend a letter._
> 
> _How funny._
> 
> _Now that I read that over, it makes it seem insignificant. Wow. That was a mistake to write that down._
> 
> _Uhm._
> 
> _Yes, so I am going to try and end this and save my non-existent dignity._
> 
> _I'm getting on a plane, coming home in just over a week, and I'm finding that the only reason I haven't flown back already, is that Sarah and Les would never let me hear the end of it. I am trying to soldier on, but it is hard. Wish me luck?_
> 
> _I love you._

  It was the only phrase on the line, no mess-ups or crossed out words.

 

> _You make it all worth it._
> 
> _I'll see you soon - even if "soon" isn't soon enough._
> 
> _\- Dave_

  Jack stared at the off-white slip of paper for a long moment. He took in the words and tried very hard to process them all through the thick haze that bogged down his brain.

  He read it over again. Once more. Twice.

  Finally, his hand dug in his back pocket, fingers jamming into the keypad until Davey's line was ringing.

   _"Hello?"_

  "I love you." The words were out in a flurry, a rush of breath Jack didn't know he was holding. "Dave, I love you."

  Davey made a surprised sound, something akin to a parrot squawk and a squeaky door hinge. It took him a moment before he replied. _"I guess the letter came in, then?"_

  "I just read it," Jack said, "like fifty times."

    _Oh. Well, hell."_ He laughed nervously and Jack found himself grinning like a fucking mad man. _"I didn't think you'd like it. It was... all over the place. Jack, I can't even remember half of what I wrote."_

  Jack spluttered. "Wait, you thought I wouldn't like it? _God, Davey_. I love you, but you're an idiot." Davey made a small, wounded sound before Jack went on. "You're an idiot, because I love it. It was amazing. You're so amazing." His cheeks hurt, but he couldn't stop smiling, found he didn't want to. "I fucking love you, David."

  Davey's voice wavered, and Jack could almost see his quivering mouth stretched out in a smile.

   _"I love you, too."_

  "I'm totally flying out there."

  Davey spluttered at the very thought, but didn't protest. The next morning, Jack was stepping off a plane in northern New York state to the warm, open arms of his boyfriend. There were kisses exchanged and many, many repetitions of those three little words.

**Author's Note:**

> This was such a good prompt, henk
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this! it's lowkey based on my own love letter writing experience.
> 
> I am still accepting prompts! Like this lil' beautiful [list](https://itsnewstome.tumblr.com/post/166335459280/40-prompts) here, or you can send in any ol' prompt that you like! I find that I will write literally anything people ask me to, and can be convinced to ship like literally anything
> 
> So please! Send me things; I freaking love them, they make my day
> 
> Please, drop me a comment! I am super proud of it and I think it turned out quite well, really
> 
> Also! visit me over on tumblr! I'm [@itsnewstome](https://itsnewstome.tumblr.com), so come, give me prompts and talk hcs with me


End file.
